Blisters: collection of fluid in a “bubble” under the outer layer of the skin.

Callus: usually painless thickening of skin caused by repeated pressure or irritations a form to protect a skin area from injury caused by rubbing or squeezing. Pressure causes cells in the irritated area to grow at a faster rate, leading to overgrowth.

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There are two types of injuries that an athlete may encounter: one caused by an acute trauma, the other resulting from overuse.

The Traumatic Injury:

The Traumatic Injury is violent and sudden, such as sprains, lacerations, torn ligaments, pulled muscles, or broken bones caused by a fall. These types of injury usually require immediate professional treatment. If the injury causes immediate pain, swelling, inability to use the injured body part, or severe pain that does not subside in 30 to 40 minutes the injury should be examined by a professional. If the athlete hears or feels a crack, tear or pop and the pain persists, help should be sought.

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Proper shoe selection is an important part of the injury prevention. Forces greater than three to five times your body weight are placed on your feet and dissipated up your leg when you run. Not only does running place a lot of force on the foot, but walking and everyday activity can place enough stress to cause pain. The right running shoes will accommodate the needs of the individual walker and runner and can help enhance comfort and performance.

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Chondromalacia Patella or “Runner’s Knee” occurs when repeated stress on the knee causes inflammation and a gradual softening under the kneecap (patella).The inflammation of the cartilage prevents the kneecap from gliding smoothly over the end of the thigh bone (femur), therefore causing pain and swelling of the knee. The underside of the kneecap should be smooth and move within the femoral groove (a groove on the thighbone). If the kneecap is pulled sideways, it becomes rough like sandpaper and the symptoms appear.

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Plantar Fasciitis is a persistent pain located on the plantar (bottom) of the heel and the medial (inside) of the foot. The planar fascia is a fibrous, tendon like structure that extends the entire length of the bottom of the foot, beginning at the heel bone and extending to the base of the toes. During excessive activity, prolonged standing or walking, the plantar fascia can become irritated and may even tear if the area is subjected to repetitive stress. Heel contact during the gait cycle exposes the medial-plantar aspect of the heel, where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone.

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The lower leg pain resulting from shin splints is caused by very small tears in the leg muscles at their point of attachment to the shin. There are two types

1. Anterior shin splints occur in the front portion on the shin bone (tibia).
2. Posterior shin splints occur on the inside ( medial) part of the leg along the tibia.

Anterior shin splints are due to muscle imbalances, insufficient shock absorption or toe running. Excessive pronation contributes to both anterior to both anterior and posterior shin splints.

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One of the things that I teach new runners is some basics about running cadence, or stride rate. Almost all elite distance runners (both men and women) tend to stride at the same rate: 180 or more steps per minute. This means that they are taking 90 or more steps with each foot each minute, a rate that doesn’t vary much even when they aren’t running fast. The main things that occurs as runners go faster is stride length, the faster they go, the longer the stride becomes, with little change in the rate of leg turnover.

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5 KM/10 Km Training Program Advanced

Hill Training

 Hill running has a strengthening effect as well as boosting your athlete’s power and is ideal for those athletes who depend on high running speeds - football, rugby, basketball, cricket players and even runners. To reduce the possibility of injury hill training should be conducted once the athlete has a good solid base of strength and endurance.

What it does for you? In hill running, the athlete is using their body weight as a resistance to push against, so the driving muscles from which their leg power is derived have to work harder. The technique to aim for is a “bouncy” style where the athlete has a good knee lift and maximum range of movement in the ankle. They should aim to drive hard, pushing upwards with their toes, flexing their ankle as much as possible, landing on the front part of the foot and then letting the heel come down below the level of the toes as the weight is taken. This stretches the calf muscles upwards and downwards as much as possible and applies resistance which overtime will improve their power and elasticity. The athlete should look straight ahead, as they run (not at their feet) and ensure their neck, shoulders and arms are free of tension. Many experts believe that the “bouncy” action is more important than the speed at which the athlete runs up the hills.

Hill work results in the calf muscles learning to contract more quickly and thereby generating work at a higher rate, they become more powerful. The calf muscle achieves this by recruiting more muscle fibers, around two or three times as many when compared to running on the flat. The “bouncy” action also improves the power of the quads in the front of the thigh as they provide the high knee lift that is required. For the athlete, when competing in their sport/event, it can mean higher running speeds and shorter foot strike times.

Hill training offers the following benefits:

• helps develop power and muscle elasticity
• improves stride frequency and length
• develops co-ordination, encouraging the proper use of arm action during the driving phase and feet in the support phase
• develops control and stabilization as well as improved speed (downhill running)
• promotes strength endurance
• develops maximum speed and strength (short hills)
• improves lactate tolerance (mixed hills)